* *While most enjoyed their Labor Day weekend at the coast or camping we spent the day getting ready for our upcoming launch at. With less than two weeks to go we had to get a few of the new systems up and running. The main areas that where worked on that day were:
1) The Tower-LCM wireless bridge
2) The 900Mhz Payload downlink and GPS system
3) Machining of parts for the break-away clamshell launch lugs, Launch Tower Umbilical system, and fin Rolleron's.
Good headway was made on all systems. The Launch Tower Electronics Pod was assembled and tested We were able to log onto the internet though a wireless 2Mb link from across the yard using only battery power, next will be a 2mi distance test scheduled to take place later this week. The 900Mhz down link was tested earlier this week and performed flawlessly but encountered some problems for unknown reasons this day. Also, most of the new clamshell lugs were machined using the vertical mill and lathe and should be completed in the next few days.
Fabrication and testing is going forward at a pretty good pace now. The new flight computer board and tower microcontroller is going to be spun this week and the code is currently being written for both. Everything should be ready in the next week or so to allow us to launch the new and improved LV-1 at least twice at Black Rock. Stay tuned for more late breaking details.
Some pictures of the days events :
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Launch Tower Electornics Pod (LTEP). |
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Jim and Brian hook up Launch Tower computer to wireless bridge. |
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Power On!! |
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Logging onto the internet. |
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Jamey Runs LCM computer mock-up |
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Dennis and Matt working on new clamshell lugs. |
